Never say never
by demon-girl98
Summary: “I’ve never... killed anybody”Suddenly, there was a complete silence. Then Yuki stood up. “Come on, Shuichi,” he said with a clipped tone, casting his little brother a death glare. “We are leaving right now
1. Chapter 1

Never Say Never  
Chapter 1  
Yuki glanced around with obvious distaste. "Tell me again why exactly I am here," he said.

"You made a promise," Tohma replied with a smile. "To be exact, you promised to Shuichi to attend the party following if their new album sold 1 million." With a grin, he added, "I thought you'd learned by now"

"Well, obviously not." Yuki glared around again. Everybody was there. In addition to Tohma, Sakano, K-san, and the band itself, also Noriko, Mika, Ryuichi, Tatsuha, and Ayaka had decided to show up. At the moment, Ryuichi, Ayaka, and Bad Luck were all laughing at something, Tatsuha casting lovesick glances at Ryuichi, Noriko and Mika talked, and Sakano and K-san had a conversation of their own.  
Seeing Shuichi eating candies, Yuki sighed. "He's already on a sugar high bad enough," he grumbled. "He'll probably wreck the house in whole once we get home tonight if he continues on this rate"

"What shall we do now?" asked Ryuichi then, loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

"I know!" exclaimed Shuichi with a joyous gleam in his eyes. "Let's play 'I've never"

"Yeah!" replied Hiro just as enthusiastically. "Let's play!" He snatched a can of beer from the nearby table.

"What's that?" asked Yuki, raising a blond eyebrow in question at the two. "Explain yourself, now. I'm not getting involved in anything I do not know anything about"

"It's easy," Shuichi said happily. "At first, we settle to sit in a ring, and everybody takes a can of beer." At this, he made to do so, only to find his lover glaring at him threateningly.

"Oh, no, you don't," Yuki snapped. "You're bad enough on sugar high; I won't let you get drunk as well. Nothing with alcohol for you today, Shindou!" With a stern look, he snatched the can of beer away.

"Hey!" protested Shuichi. "I'm an adult, Yuki! I can make decisions for myself!" As he was fixed a cold glare from the blond novelist, however, he quickly forgot about his complaint.

"The boy's right, Yuki, you know," Tohma said with a smile. "He's an adult, by physical age, if not otherwise. Therefore, he should be allowed to decide what he drinks or doesn't drink"

Now, Yuki raised an eyebrow and glared at him, too. "I see," he said, "I see that it's not you who has to deal with him when he's bouncing off the walls and there are no others to slow him down. This brat," he emphasized his point by tapping the pink-haired head with his finger, "is simply baka"

"If I may continue?" asked Shuichi grumpily. As Yuki oh-so-generously nodded in affirmation, the pink-haired boy went on, "So, anyway, each one takes a turn to say, 'I've never,' and then something that they have never done. Then everybody who has done that has to drink from their can"

"So, basically," the tall blond said coolly, "it's just an excuse to drink?" Now, Shuichi opened his mouth to protest, but was waved off. "Oh, lay it off, you brat," sighed Yuki. "Let's play, if it's so exciting to you"

"Yay!" Shuichi was truly joyful, although Yuki still wouldn't allow him get anything but a can of sugar-free coke. The others all grasped a beer can each and settled into a ring.

After a moment of looking at each other in the eye, wondering who would start, every eye in the ring had somehow travelled to Tohma. The angelic-looking blond sighed and smiled. "Very well," he said, "I'll start the game, then. So... I've never played guitar"

Opening his can and drinking, Hiro smirked. "That's lame," he said teasingly. "So lame"

"I know," Tohma replied evenly. "I am kind of counting on you others to make some horrible confessions"  
Then, everybody looked at the next person in the ring, excepting them to say something. "I do believe it's your turn, Mika," said Yuki, smirking at his sister and raising an eyebrow. "So, what is it"

"Okay. Hmm... I've never cheated on my lover!" announced Mika, smirking at her two brothers.  
The others all exchanged glances, none daring to drink. Tatsuha and Yuki, however, glanced at first at their big sister, then at each other, then again at their sister. Then, they both took a swig.

At seeing Yuki drink, Shuichi's eyes veiled over threateningly. The blond threw him a glare. "Oh, shut up, you crybaby," he snorted. "I haven't cheated on you. I've had other lovers before you, you know"

Shuichi sniffled still for a couple of times, then suddenly seemed to brighten up. "Yay!" he exclaimed. "You're only mine now, no matter how many others might want you!" Now, he clutched onto Yuki's arm, hugging it tightly. He happily ignored the novelist's glare as well as the way the blond man rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, concentrating on nuzzling the captured arm instead.

"I'm not yours, you are mine," said Yuki calmly. "Now, let go, brat. You're wrinkling my shirt"

Shuichi indeed let go, looking happy as ever. Then he turned towards the next person in the ring, who happened to be Suguru. "Su-chan!" he said cheerfully.

"It's your turn"

"Me?" Suguru raised an eyebrow. Then he said, smirking, "I have never thought that Eiri Yuki looks sexy"  
Yuki blinked in the most uncharacteristic way. Whether it was because of Suguru's words or because Shuichi, Ryuichi, Ayaka, Noriko, and even Tatsuha drank, nobody could tell for sure.

"Tatsuha!" exclaimed Mika, scandalized. "What -- but -- what --" She didn't seem to be able to form a coherent sentence. Instead, she just stared at her youngest brother, eyes wide.

"Oh, come off it, Mika," laughed Tatsuha. "It doesn't mean that I'd want to sleep with Eiri, far from that. I just happen to know that I look very much like him, so he must be pretty sexy, too"

Now Yuki, having recovered from his shock, drank from his own can, too, smirking at Tatsuha. "I would say that you have too big thoughts of yourself, brother," he said with an amused expression, "but somehow, I don't think that'd be too wise a thing to say." Then, they both laughed.

"Hey," said Tatsuha then, "it's your turn, Eiri!" He pointed at his brother, who, sure enough, was sitting next to Suguru. For a moment, Yuki looked thoughtful.

Then, however, a smirk spread over his lips.

"Uh-oh," muttered Shuichi, the words escaping his lips unnoticed. Like everybody else, he was now watching Yuki concentratedly, waiting to hear what the blond novelist had to say.

"I've never," Yuki started, a slight smirk adorning his lips, "I've never had sex on the kitchen table"

Now, Tatsuha bursted into laughter, shaking so much with it that he couldn't even manage the swig he was attempting to take. Most of the others looked shocked at Yuki's choice of subject, Shuichi was red as a beetroot, and Ryuichi was desperately trying to cover Kumagorou's poor little ears. Mika and Tohma, however, merely glanced sideways each other, smiled briefly, and both drank from their own cans of beer.

"Oh, damn," muttered Yuki under his breath. "I so didn't need to know that. This game is truly a bad idea"

"Hey, it's your turn, Shuichi!" exclaimed Hiro, never one to take much time to get over any shock or stunning revelation he might stumble over. "What dark, dirty secrets shall we now discover"

Shuichi looked thoughtful for a while. Then he said, "Well... I've never heard my lover say, 'I love you"

Nobody drank. Instead, they just stared at Yuki, who calmly took a gulp of his own beer. Noticing everybody's eyes still on him, he sighed in irritation. "Oh, for fuck's sake," he muttered. Turning towards Shuichi, he snapped, "Okay, I love you, you stupid, annoying, idiotic brat. Happy now"

"Yes!" In an instant, the pink-haired vocalist was hugging him, having an almost choking grip around his neck. "I'm so very very happy now, Yuki! And I love you, too"

"Baka," muttered Yuki, trying not-too-gently to shove him away. "Get off me, you little leech"

"Hey!" Tatsuha said as he got over his laughing fit. "Now you have to say something else, Shuichi"

"What?" Shuichi blinked, then seemed to understand. "I've never slept with anybody of the opposite sex"

"My can is empty," Tatsuha complained after taking the final gulp of beer from his container. "How's it possible that you have any left, Eiri? You've drunk at least as much as I have"

"I drink less at a time," replied the novelist dryly. "Unlike you, my main intention is not to get drunk"

"Ooh," said the darkhaired one of the Uesugi brothers. "Yuki, you're such a nice little boy nowadays. I'm really shocked about your behaviour. Shu-chan must have infected you with his niceness"

Yuki merely shrugged. "If I kept him from getting drunk and then let myself do that, I'd never hear the end of it," he said. "The brat's bad enough even usually, so I certainly won't encourage him to whine more"

"Oh, shut up, Yuki," Mika snorted. "We'd all be out cold far before you got drunk, and you know it"

"Whatever." Yuki glanced to Shuichi's other side. "It looks like it's your turn, Sakuma-san"

"Oh, yes!" The man-child grinned broadly. "Well... I've never got Eiri Yuki's autograph"

"And neither will you get it now," replied Yuki dryly as everybody else laughed.

An hour and several rounds of "I've never" later, everybody was distracted in one way or another. Yuki stubbornly kept on making confessions about his sexual habits just to embarrass Shuichi, despite the fact the at the same time he was finding out more about Mika and Tohma's sex life than he'd ever wanted. Tatsuha drank on almost every turn, his mouthfuls becoming bigger and bigger all the time. At the moment, he was pretty well drunk, a pile of empty beer cans next to him.

Now, it was Ryuichi's turn. "I've never lied to Kumagorou!" he announced happily.

The others just shook their heads with small smiles. Yuki, however, took a drink from his beer can. Ryuichi's face immediately fell. "It is very nasty to lie to poor little Kumagorou!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, come off it," snorted Yuki, determinedly ignoring Shuichi's best -- which was not so good -- "shut-up-you-nasty-thing" glare on the side of his head. "It's just a stuffed animal, for fuck's sake"

"You are nasty, Eiri!" shouted the well-drunk Tatsuha. Now eyeing everybody in the ring and then casting his brother a particularly nasty glare, he then said,

"I've never... killed anybody"

Suddenly, there was a complete silence. Then Yuki stood up. "Come on, Shuichi," he said with a clipped tone, casting his little brother a death glare. "We are leaving right now"

"Right, that's it!" shouted Tatsuha with a slightly slurred voice. "Run off, you mean psychopath"

"That's rather enough, Tatsuha," Tohma said, his tone suddenly cooler than ever. "You have exactly ten seconds to take your words back. After that, I'll make you regret them"

"That's right!" the young monk snapped. "Do defend my brother, you, too! After all, he's the person you love the most!" Seeing that Tohma was taken aback by this, he went on, "Do you think I don't know about it? You only married Mika to be closer to Eiri. I bet the only reason why you haven't already committed adultery is the fact that Eiri won't sleep with you, and he's the only one you want! Or maybe," he then continued with a sly tone in his voice, "maybe he indeed does sleep with you"

"That's not true." Tohma's eyes were now bearing a dangerous, icy glint. "I do care for Eiri, that is true. However, I see him as a little brother -- not a potential lover. I've never had any romantic interest on him"

"That's what you say," Tatsuha replied heatedly. "However, it's not true, is it"

"Why not ask Yuki himself?" suggested Hiro coolly. "I bet he'd like to say something. Right, Yuki?" however, as he turned towards where the novelist had last been, he noticed that Yuki and Shuichi had indeed left already, having managed to slip out during Tatsuha and Tohma's row without anybody noticing.

"I think," said Mika slowly, casting a long glance at her younger brother, "I think that once you've sobered up properly, Tatsuha, you are going to be very, very sorry for what you have done."

Hello This actually is Demon-girl98 I would Like to thank linora for letting me take oover after she wrote 3 chapters of it


	2. Chapter 2

Never Say Never  
Chapter 2

"Yuki?" asked Shuichi quietly as the two had arrived home. "Yuki, are you sure you are all right? You don't look very good." He glanced warily at his blond lover, concerned about him.

"No, I'm not all right," replied Yuki, surprising him. The pinkhaired vocalist had been wholly expecting him to deny everything even though it was clear that something was wrong. He even knew what was wrong.

Now, Shuichi watched as Yuki's hand wandered to his pocket. Seeing how the novelist drew his prescription bottle from his pocket, opened it, and swallowed two pills dry, the younger man's eyes were filled with tears. "Yuuu-kii," he whined. "You're not going to get sick again, are you? You can't"

Yuki merely sighed and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "No, I have not planned to fall sick on you, brat," he said. "It's just that... Well, Tatsuha's words upset me pretty much"

Now, Shuichi stared at him, bewildered. It was extremely rare that Yuki talked about his feelings this way. Still wordless, he followed his lover into the living room, where they both settled onto the couch. Yuki sat on the couch and Shuichi curled up next to him, laying his head in the blond's lap and looking up at him with large violet eyes, waiting. And finally, Yuki started to speak.

"Tatsuha is the one I have always trusted," he said quietly, his eyes staring somewhere to the distance. "True, we bicker and fight occasionally, but never with any ill intentions. He's the only one who has never treated me differently because of my appearance, and the only person in my family I can somehow stand for an extended amount of time. Basically, he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember"  
Shuichi had this far just listened to him wordlessly. Now, however, he opened his mouth to speak, only to find a finger placed over his lips. Then Yuki started to distractedly pet his hair, a gesture which Shuichi found almost alarming. Yuki never showed his affection like this. He must be really upset.

"Of all the people, I could have never thought that it would be Tatsuha to bring that up," the blond novelist continued. "Sure, he was drunk, but that's not an excuse of any kind. It doesn't change the fact that he intentionally hurt me. I can't think of a single thing he could have said that could have been worse. Tatsuha is so close to me that he knows exactly what to do to make me as upset as only possible"

Now, Shuichi was most certainly alarmed. "Yuki," he started to say, "you know that I would never "

"I know, you baka, I know," the other man interrupted. "You're simply too much of a well-meaning whirlwind to even try to hurt somebody. However, you and Tatsuha are not much alike. Now, my dear brother has shown just how much I can trust him -- a stuffed bunny's worth." With a sigh, he added, "I don't trust easily, Shuichi -- you, if anybody, should know that, given how long and hard you fought to achieve that trust. And a trust once broken is even more difficult to rebuild"

Now, Shuichi finally got to speak. "I'm sure that Tatsuha will regret his words when he's sober again"

Yuki merely snorted. "I bet he will," he said. "But what proves that he won't just do it again next time I insult his adorable Ryuichi's precious little bunny?

Nothing. And that's why I can't trust him"

Shuichi sighed. "I hate seeing you this way," he said quietly. "Calm down, Yuki. This'll do no good to you"

"I know." The novelist sighed, too. "The problem is just that I can't help it. Believe me, I would much prefer not to remember anything of my past." With a smirk, he added, "Well, anything prior to you, anyway. You've caused me far too much trouble to be forgotten that easily"

The pink-haired vocalist smiled faintly. "Always nice to know that you care," he teased lightly.

To that, Yuki didn't say anything. Instead, his hand momentarily stopped on its many a time repeated journey over his lover's pink locks. Then the hand was lowered to briefly touch the vocalist's cheek in a gentle caress before it returned to its previous position. To most, it probably wouldn't have meant much, but to Shuichi, coming from Yuki, it was a declaration better than any that could have been expressed by words. So, he happily snuggled up to the taller man, his eyes shining with happiness and love.

Yuki's expression softened a bit, as much as it ever softened, anyway. Then he smirked at his petite lover. "I think I still need some consolation," he said. "Would you be willing to help me with this problem"

Shuichi's expression brightened even more as he nodded eagerly. At this, Yuki lowered his head, and the vocalist raised his own to meet the waiting lips. A moment later they were kissing passionately, Yuki having pulled Shuichi's whole upper body into his arms. Then he lifted the boy into his arms, heading towards the bedroom with him. Of course, this action of his did not meet much resistance.

Shuichi never took his eyes from Yuki as he was lowered to the bed. As the blond then leant over him to place a kiss onto his lips, he responded eagerly, hands searching the buttons of Yuki's shirt. At the same time he felt a pair of equally eager hands undressing himself. When wandering fingers brushed over his nipples for the first time, he moaned into Yuki's mouth.

"I love you, Yuki..." he whispered as they broke the kiss at last.

And that was the last full sentence either of them uttered for a long time.

Tohma sat down in his favourite armchair with a deep sigh. After Yuki and Shuichi left, the whole party had gone just worse. In the end, about everybody had been mad at somebody else.

"Tohma?" asked a quiet voice behind him. As he turned around, he saw his wife, who looked serious.

"Yes? What is it, Mika?" he asked. However, he had a bad feeling that he already knew what it was.

And truly, next he heard the question he had feared. "Were you telling the truth?" asked Mika, sounding anxious and a bit annoyed. "Back in the party. Were you really telling the truth, or were you lying"

"I wasn't lying," replied Tohma levelly. "I've truly never played guitar." At Mika's annoyed gaze, he sighed. "Yes, I did tell the truth," he said. "I am not attracted to your brother any more than you are. Brotherly love is the only thing I've ever felt for him." With a serious tone, he finished, "That is the whole truth"

Mika sighed. "I wish I could trust you," she said. "However, Tatsuha's words made me... think"

"And this makes me think." Now, Tohma's voice turned from serious to icy. "It is obvious that you don't trust me, which makes me ask whether I can trust you. So, tell me, my dear wife... did you tell the truth"

"What?" exclaimed Mika. "Are you implying that I'd cheated on you? I'd never"

"And I would never sleep with Yuki," replied the blond coolly. "Still, you accused me of doing that"

For a moment his wife just glared at him, fuming. Then she stormed off, leaving him alone.

Tohma sighed, hiding his face in his hands. He had a feeling that this all would end badly.

Tatsuha blinked as a bright light hit his face. Groaning, he tried to cover his eyes with an arm. This did not help much, however, as he next felt somebody grasping his wrist, tearing his arm from his face.

At last, he forced his eyes open despite the pounding headache. The first thing he saw was Ryuichi's serious face. Having too bad a hangover to even smile at his lover, Tatsuha groaned again.

"I must say that I'm almost happy to see you're suffering," said Ryuichi, perfectly serious for once. "You certainly deserve the worst hangover ever for what you did yesterday night"

"What do you mean?" asked Tatsuha. Well, he meant to ask that. However, all he could get out was, "What --" Then everything from the night before came crashing down on him, and he groaned again, this time for a reason that had nothing to do with his horrible headache. "Kami help me," he muttered. "If I'm lucky, Yuki will be on a good mood and merely tear me into tiny pieces. That's not very probable, though"

Ryuichi merely nodded. "On that you're right," he said. "If Tohma or Mika doesn't get you first, that is"

"You're my lover," whined the much younger man. "Shouldn't you protect me from those maniacs"

"Yes, I am your lover," said Ryuichi levelly, "and that is the only reason why I'm not doing anything nasty to you myself. However, I will not stop your family from doing whatever they deem fitting to you"

At first, Tatsuha pouted, then merely sighed. "I probably should try to call Eiri," he said quietly. "If I let him build his anger, he will never say a word to me again." At this, he also sat up on the bed.

His lover merely nodded, not making any comment on his plan. Instead, he merely took Tatsuha's cell phone from his pocket and handed it to its lawful owner. The darkhaired man groaned.

"I am too predictable, aren't I?" he asked as he dialled the number of Eiri and Shuichi's apartment.

"Not predictable," Ryuichi said, shrugging a bit. "Let's just say that I know you, and I also know Yuki to some extent. Given both of your personalities, this would be the logical next step"

Tatsuha even managed a small smirk. Then, however, all his attention was turned to the phone.

Yuki groaned as he sat up. He would have much preferred to sleep some more, but the phone was ringing and wouldn't stop. Sending a glare at Shuichi, who had simply shoved him out of the bed as the phone's sound first reached them and then gone back to sleep himself, the blond novelist then sighed and started to look for the phone. As it was wireless and resided in the same apartment with one Shindou Shuichi, it could be practically anywhere. Not that Yuki himself hadn't misplaced the phone several times himself -- usually on purpose -- but after Shuichi had used it, it could be found in the most ridiculous places.

Like now. The poor receiver piece of the phone was under the couch of all places. Relieved at having finally found the phone and annoyed at Shuichi for losing it, Yuki pressed a button to receive the call. "Moshi moshi," he muttered into the receiver. He wasn't really interested in whatever the person in the other end of the line wanted to say. Just in case it was important, however, he did answer.

"Aniki?" asked a tired, slightly hopeful voice. Without a second's hesitation, Yuki hung up. The phone started to ring again, but he ignored it. Tatsuha was the last person he wanted to talk with.

As he turned around, he saw Shuichi's serious eyes looking at him. Brushing past the young vocalist, Yuki ignored the hurt look he got from his lover. Not even Shuichi's puppy eyes would change his mind this time. Hurrying to his office, he closed the door and locked it. Sinking into his chair, he sighed, then turned his laptop on. Maybe killing some inexistent characters would help him calm down a bit.

"I'm sorry, Tatsuha," Shuichi muttered into the phone, wanting to make sure that Yuki wouldn't hear him talking to Tatsuha. "Yuki seems determined not to talk with you. The fact that you were drunk doesn't seem to help the case at all. He's convinced that you value Kumagorou over him"

"That's not true," he heard his lover's brother's voice whining from the other end of the line. "I don't know what possessed me to say that. I would never deliberately hurt him"

"I'm sorry," sighed Shuichi, lowering his eyes. "However, I fear I can't help you in this matter"

After talking for another moment, the vocalist finally hung up. Knowing that it would be no use to try to get Yuki out of the office and that he simply couldn't go back to sleep, he sat down on the couch and leant back, sighing. He, if anybody, knew how hard it was to get back to Yuki's good side if he was truly mad. In fact, to most people, it was fairly impossible.

He could just hope that Tatsuha wasn't one of those people.

After some time, Yuki frowned. He had expected Shuichi to come banging to his door before long. Not that he'd hoped for it, no, anything else, but he had indeed expected it. The fact that his lover still hadn't given any sign of himself was almost worrying in its rarity. And Yuki didn't like feeling worried.

At last, he sighed and turned his laptop off. There was no way he could concentrate now that the seed of worry had managed to sneak into his mind. Unlocking the door, he stepped out of his office. Listening for any sound of his lover, he frowned as he heard none. Then, he headed towards the living room.

And there Shuichi was. Lying on the couch, sound asleep, the pink-haired vocalist looked even younger than he really was. He must have been exhausted to fall asleep there. Not even Yuki could deny that he looked cute, even though this made shivers run down the novelist's back. He didn't consider anything cute.

Walking silently to Shuichi's side, he looked down for still another moment before carefully reaching down and wiping a stray lock of pink hair away from the boy's face. Watching the sleeping form for still some time, he then sighed and turned around, heading towards the kitchen. He was hungry and needed to take care of that little problem. Anything else could wait until later.

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Never Say Never  
Chapter 3  
Yuki stretched himself before saving the document and switching off his laptop. A quick glance at the clock told him that it wasn't that late yet, but he stopped anyway. As he really had no need to work at night -- the next deadline was still weeks away, thank Kami for that -- there was no reason why he couldn't stop working already. Shuichi was probably already asleep; the band had just returned from a tour and the vocalist was exhausted. Yuki didn't mind, as he knew that the following night Shuichi would be just as full of energy as usually, energy that he very much liked to spend in some very... satisfying... ways.

However, it was with a sigh that he stood up. Tohma was in America and would stay there for a couple of days more, and thus, he had nobody sensible and adult-like around to talk to. It had been a month already, and he and Tatsuha hadn't made up yet. If it depended on him, they never would. It was obvious that he couldn't trust his little brother; thus, he had no desire to have any kind of interaction with Tatsuha. Tohma, on the other hand, seemed to have some problems with Mika.

What kind of problems, that he wouldn't tell, but Yuki knew that something was not right. He could sense this kind of thing; it was in his job description. All romance novelists, no matter how cold and distant, had to know at least something about romance. If they didn't, their books never got sold. And Yuki's books were all best-sellers.

The thought of the Seguchis' marriage crisis, of course, made him sigh again. Knowing his sister, Mika would do something simply outrageous. And then it would again be his job to sort out all the messes his family created for themselves before coming crying to him. Great, just great. Damn.

Just then, somebody knocked on the door. Loudly. Cursing silently to himself and wondering who it might be, Yuki walked to the door. Swearing that if it was Tatsuha he would kick his brother out, he opened the door. However, when he saw who was behind it, he was very surprised for once.

Oddly enough, his surprise guest was Tohma, staring at him with a very odd expression. The smaller man looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept for ages, and also angry. Very angry, to be precise.

"What is it, Tohma?" asked Yuki, frowning. "You look like you'd run all the way from New York and were blaming me for having to do that. And what are you here for, anyway? I thought you wouldn't come back until the day after tomorrow." While speaking, he stepped aside to let the other blond in.

"So thought I, too," grumbled Tohma, hurrying through the apartment, "and everybody else thought so as well. I noticed that better than well when I went home today and found my wife in bed with another man"

"What!" Now, even the calm and collected Yuki was startled. "Do you mean that Mika cheated on you"

"Exactly." Tohma grimaced and sank into an armchair -- by now they had reached the living room.

"I managed to get back to Japan ahead of time and decided not to bother anyone. So, I took a taxi from the airport and went home. Mika wasn't anywhere to be seen, but that didn't surprise me; she's always somewhere, and I rarely know when she comes or goes. Anyway, I was tired from the trip, and decided to go to bed early and not inform anybody about my arrival until tomorrow."

Closing his eyes and sighing, he then finished, "I bet you can guess all too well what I saw when I opened the door to the bedroom"

Yuki nodded slowly. "I think I can indeed guess that," he said quietly. "Believing it is another matter altogether." Then, he shook his head slowly. "I don't understand," he muttered. "I don't understand at all." Then he sighed. "Do you want anything? Coffee? Tea? Beer? I think you might need something"

"Bring me some coffee, please." Tohma closed his eyes and sighed. "I need something to clear my mind"

When Yuki returned from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for Tohma and a can of beer for himself, he found the other blond in the exactly same position as earlier. The N-G president accepted the offered cup with a small bow of thanks, sipping the black liquid thoughtfully.

"Where's Shuichi, anyway?" he then asked, glancing around. "...You haven't kicked him out, have you"

"Oh, no," replied the author, rolling his eyes. "The brat's simply already sleeping." Raising an eyebrow, he then continued, "Why do you ask, anyway? Or are you maybe jealous of me"

"Not you, too," groaned Tohma, looking half desperate, half plain frustrated. "Can't you lot just believe that I was telling the truth?" His voice sounded pretty tired now. "I'm not in love with you,

Eiri. I've never been. True, I do love you, but only like a brother, nothing more. That's all I've ever felt for you"

"I see." The eyebrow still wouldn't go down as Yuki watched him closely. "So, did you marry Mika because of your love for me... or because of your love for her"

For a moment, the older man was silent. Then he said quietly, "...Because of my love for her"

"And have you told her that?" Yuki took a sip of his beer, never taking his eyes away from Tohma.

"Well... No. Yes. I don't know." The elder blond shook his head, looking more confused than Yuki had ever seen him. "I did tell her that I'm not in love with you... but I didn't exactly mention my feelings for her"

"Maybe you should have." Now, it was Tohma's turn to raise an eyebrow, but Yuki ignored it.

"Trust me on this, Tohma. I'm maybe not that good in practice when it comes to developing and maintaining romantic relationships," at this point, he glanced towards his bedroom, where Shuichi was asleep at the moment, "but there's nothing wrong with my knowledge of the theory of this subject. If I didn't know quite a lot about it, I don't think my books would sell as well as they do. It's women who buy them, after all. Mostly"

"So you think that she cheated on me because she thinks I'm cheating on her with you? Or that I love you more than her?" asked Tohma, looking doubtful. "Somehow, I fail to see the logic in that"

"Well, that's hardly a surprise," the novelist replied dryly. "Mika is, after all, a woman. Their logic is naturally quite twisted. I'd rather be worried if you did see the logic behind it"

Tohma sighed. "What if it's not that, though?" he asked quietly. "What if she simply doesn't care about me? And what if she's been cheating on me for years already? Eiri, what on Earth can I do"

"Well," Yuki said quite calmly, "at first you have to find out what's the truth here. If she truly has been cheating on you for a longer time, then deal with that. Try to fix the things, have a divorce, whatever you find fitting. If it's only that she's jealous of you, then do something to fix that. Tell her that you love her"

While speaking, Yuki also watched Tohma very closely. The whole situation was completely unfamiliar to him. Usually whenever they had serious conversations like this one, it was Tohma who was giving advice and Yuki who was asking questions. Now their positions were reversed, and it made him feel a bit uneasy. This was not right. Tohma was supposed to always be calm, much like Yuki himself. But Tohma definitely wasn't supposed to be like this. He might be friendly, sweet, even childlike, and just as easily cool and distant, whatever served his purposes best.

However, he should not have been like this. Confused, tired, almost fearful -- this was absolutely unlike Tohma Seguchi. This should have been impossible.

Noticing his gaze, Tohma smirked tiredly. "I guess I look like shit," he said, and Yuki had to admit that his guess was rather accurate. With a small sigh, the smaller blond continued, "I feel like that, too. It's just... How could she do this to me? I thought that she at least cared for me"

"To that question, I cannot give an answer." Yuki sighed as well. Then he asked, "Do you know who the man was, the one she was with? Do you know him"

"I -- I don't know," replied Tohma slowly. "As soon as I realized what was going on, I just stormed out before I killed one or both of them or myself. So no, I didn't really have time to recognize him"

"Very well." Yuki nodded. If it had been anybody else, he would have probably asked whether they were sure about what they had seen. As it was Tohma, however, he trusted the man's word. Tohma was too intelligent to have misinterpreted such a situation. If he had seen it, he had seen it, period to that.

Then, however, Yuki again looked at his brother-in-law. "I suggest that you get some sleep before anything else," he said. "Go to the guestroom and try to sleep some. Your mind will be clearer for sure after you have got rid of the worst exhaustion. Tomorrow we will take another look at the situation"

Now the older man nodded, looking grateful. "I do think your suggestion is a good one, Eiri," he said, trying to sound cheerful but failing miserably. "Maybe everything will seem a bit better in the morning"

So, Yuki led him to the guestroom. After making sure that Tohma was truly going to sleep and not, for example, harm himself or spend the whole night awake, he left, his mind still on the other blond's problem. It seemed as if nothing else could reach his mind but the thought of Mika cheating on Tohma. How could that ever happen? It was just so strictly against his sister's usual character. He just didn't understand.

When he entered the master bedroom, however, the first thing he registered was the quiet sound of Shuichi's breathing, and next, the singer's pink hair on the pillow. By the time he had got himself out of his daywear and was ready to slip into bed, his mind was a lot calmer. Sliding between the sheets, he wrapped his arms around the slender singer's body in a rare display of affection.

He loved Shuichi. He'd only ever said it once to the younger man, and hardly even admitted it to himself, but in the end, it was true. Those sparkling eyes brightened his days and that warm body comforted his nights. When his lover had been on the tour he'd felt so lonely that it had almost hurt him physically. The whole house seemed a lot emptier and quieter without the ever-active presence of Shuichi and the noise he was always making. In the end only the thought of Shuichi's return had made Yuki able to go on, having now admitted to himself that he simply couldn't go back to his old, lonely lifestyle. Not anymore.

The sigh that escaped his lips touched Shuichi's hair but didn't wake the young vocalist in his arms.

He and Shuichi had had their ups and downs -- more downs, though, if you asked almost anybody who knew them both -- but in the end, they were still happy. Compared with the things they had gone through, Tohma's problems seemed, no matter how serious, almost absurd. Of course, Yuki had no fear of his lover ever cheating on him -- Shuichi just couldn't do that, it'd be against his very nature. And as for Yuki himself, well, he had found that he couldn't even think about sleeping with anybody but his lover. Taking this as a positive thing, he had accepted this change to his former attitude, however grudgingly it might have been.

Now, however, he tightened his hold on his smaller lover, enjoying the feeling of having Shuichi in his arms again for the first time in what seemed like forever but had really been just a couple of weeks. Breathing in the familiar fruity scent of the vocalist, he then let himself be slowly washed away to the land of dreams.

End Chapter 3

Hey wanted to thank Eleonora again for leting me take over


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